5 Cheap & Easy Ways to Make Unique Save the Dates

First of all, I hear congratulations are in order. How exciting is this? You’re beginning your lives together, and it’s time to let your loved ones know. Here’s the catch, though: you’re a reasonable sort, and you recognize that getting a solid start to your new life is easier when you don’t spend every cent you have on quirky save-the-dates. How can you make a memorable impression without breaking the bank?

Relax. Your friends at Bond have got you covered. We want you to be happy. We just love love, you know? That’s why we’ve compiled this list of save the date ideas that combine affordability with adorability, creating a whole new category that we call “adoraffordable.” That probably won’t catch on. Check the list out anyway.

Custom Fortune Cookies

First introduced to the United States around the beginning of the 20th century, fortune cookies broke ground by becoming the first baked good in American history that people eagerly expected to find hiding scraps of paper inside.

Charming, delicious, and unforgettable, custom fortune cookies are a great way to spread the word about your big day. Depending on where you order them from, they’ll generally run about $1 a piece. Alternately, if you have three egg whites, some flour, a few other ingredients, and the time and inclination, they’re exceptionally easy to make yourself.

There are a ton of recipes floating around the internet, but one of the best ones we’ve seen comes from Fifteen Spatulas. The ingredients are simple and each batch only takes about half an hour to make. Putting in the effort yourself means that each invitation will only cost a few pennies. Bonus: Once you’re finished announcing your happy news, you’ll be able to make fortune cookies, which is one of those quirky life skills that no millennial should ride their pennyfarthing bicycle without.

Buttons

Buttons are everywhere. If you were born between 1985 and 10 minutes ago, you probably have some attached to your bag, or an old jacket from college, or your bassinet, for the 10 minutes ago crowd. They’re a fun, eye-catching way to get a message out.

Like fortune cookies, button invitations are something you can make at home. Unlike fortune cookies, you probably shouldn’t. Unless you already have an industrial-grade button press around the house, the setup for a DIY project like this is going to set you back about the same amount as just getting the things printed and shipped to you. Plenty of places offer custom buttons, and good news for those of you with longer guest lists: they generally cost less per piece the more you buy.

Scratchy Tickets

Whether you’re getting married or buying scratch tickets, chances are that you feel pretty lucky. Scratch tickets are always around, but nobody ever thinks of making their own. Good news: it’s so, so easy.

Print out the cards you want — there are templates all over the internet — with the announcement and the date in the area that you’re going to cover in scratch-off paint. Then mix 1 part dish soap with 2 parts silver acrylic paint. Two or three coats will do the trick. Want to get it done in a couple couple of hours? Invite a few friends over and make it a group activity. Let them know up front that there’ll be wine.

Temporary Tattoos

Another in the vein of “things you didn’t realize you could make yourself,” temporary tattoos are the genuine best. Remember strolling into second grade with some sick new temporary ink giving you all the confidence of a 4-foot-tall Jason Momoa? Time to bring that feeling back.

A couple of sheets of 8½-by-11 temporary tattoo paper will run $7 or $8 at the craft store and work with your home computer printer, making this another idea where the hardest part of the equation is picking which design you like most. The best part about this idea: the bombardment of Instagram photos from your friends all tatted up in your wedding date.

Bond Handwritten Notes

Everyone loves getting a handwritten note, but let’s be real. Writing out letters by hand stops feeling charming and quaint around page three and starts feeling like the beginning of lifelong carpal tunnel.

If you love the idea of sending personal, handwritten letters to all of your prospective guests, but you don’t want to spend the rest of your week icing your hand, you can always turn to Bond. Using proprietary technology, Bond is able to mass produce handwritten letters on custom stationary. It’s all of the warmth of a letter from home with none of the awkwardly trying to remember how to write a cursive letter Q.